Metabolic syndrome (MS) is not a homogeneous entity, but this term refers to the coexistence of factors that increase the risk for the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. There are different versions of the criteria for the diagnosis of MS, which makes the population of patients diagnosed with MS heterogeneous. Research to date shows that MS is associated with oxidative stress (OS), but it is unclear which MS component is most strongly associated with OS. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between the parameters of OS and the presence of individual elements of MS in young adults, as well as to identify the components of MS by means of principal components analysis (PCA) and to investigate how the parameters of OS correlate with the presence of individual components. The study included 724 young adults with or without a family history of coronary heart disease (population of the MAGNETIC study). Blood samples were taken from the participants of the study to determine peripheral blood counts, biochemical parameters, and selected parameters of OS. In addition, blood pressure and anthropometric parameters were measured. In subjects with MS, significantly lower activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), copper- and zinc-containing SOD (CuZnSOD), and manganese-containing SOD (MnSOD) were found, along with significantly higher total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and significantly lower concentration of thiol groups per gram of protein (PSH). We identified three components of MS by means of PCA: “Obesity and insulin resistance”, “Dyslipidemia”, and “Blood pressure”, and showed the component “Obesity and insulin resistance” to have the strongest relationship with OS. In conclusion, we documented significant differences in some parameters of OS between young adults with and without MS. We showed that “Obesity and insulin resistance” is the most important component of MS in terms of relationship with OS.

Dietary habits of healthy offspring with a positive family history of premature coronary artery disease (P-CAD) have not been studied so far. The aim of this study was twofold: (1) to identify dietary patterns in a sample of young healthy adults with (cases) and without (controls) family history of P-CAD, and (2) to study the association between dietary patterns and family history of P-CAD. The data came from the MAGNETIC case-control study. The participants were healthy adults aged 18–35 years old, with (n = 351) and without a family history of P-CAD (n = 338). Dietary data were collected with food frequency questionnaire FFQ-6. Dietary patterns (DP) were derived using principal component analysis (PCA). The associations between the adherence to DPs and family history of P-CAD were investigated using logistic regression. Two models were created: crude and adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, place of residence, financial situation, education, and physical activity at leisure time. Three DPs were identified: ‘prudent’, ‘westernized traditional’ and ‘dairy, breakfast cereals, and treats’. In both crude and adjusted models, subjects with family history of P-CAD showed higher adherence by 31% and 25% to ‘westernized traditional’ DP (odds ratio (OR) 1.31, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.12–1.53; p < 0.005; per 1 unit of standard deviation (SD) of DP score and adjOR 1.25, 95% CI: 1.06–1.48; p = 0.007; per 1 unit of SD of DP score, respectively). Young healthy adults with family history of P-CAD present unfavorable dietary patterns and are potentially a target group for CAD primary prevention programs.

Introduction. Obesity is one of the most important public health problems in the world. Among obese people, there are those who, apart from excessive body weight, do not exhibit other metabolic dysfunctions, have a lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and show lower mortality. According to the theory, they are referred as metabolically healthy obese (MHO), in contrast to metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO). Metabolic disturbances occurring with obesity have been well established to be associated with oxidative stress. Aim. The purpose of this study was to analyse the association between selected anthropometric and biochemical parameters with oxidative stress in MHO, MUO, and normal weight young adults. Material and Methods. Individuals with age between 18 and 36 years with no history of chronic diseases and use of medicaments, with or without obesity, participated in the study. Complete blood counts, biochemical measurements, and parameters of oxidative stress such as total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidative status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI), serum concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA), ceruloplasmin, thiol groups and lipid hydroperoxides (LPH), concentration of lipofuscin (LPS) in erythrocytes, and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured. Results. 422 patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Among the study participants, 208 people (49.29%) were offspring of patients with angiographically confirmed coronary artery disease. Among the participants, 16 patients have been included in the group of metabolically healthy obese (MHO) people and 61 patients in the group of metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO) people and 345 patients had normal body weight. Significant differences between metabolically unhealthy obese and normal weight patients, as well as between women and men, have been found. Conclusions. We showed significant differences in the selected parameters of oxidative stress between metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO) individuals and young volunteers with normal body weight as well as without significant medical history.

Background: Obesity is considered as an indispensable component of metabolic health assessment and metabolic syndrome diagnosis. The associations between diet quality and metabolic health in lean, young adults have not been yet established whilst data addressing this issue in overweight and obese subjects is scarce. Our analysis aimed to establish the link between diet quality (measured with data-driven dietary patterns and diet quality scores) and metabolic syndrome (MS) in young adults, regardless of their adiposity status. Methods: A total of 797 participants aged 18-35 years old were included in the study. Participants were assigned into metabolic syndrome (MS) group if at least two abnormalities within the following parameters were present: blood pressure, triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, blood glucose. Participants with one or none abnormalities were considered as metabolically healthy subjects (MH), Diet quality was assessed with two approaches: 1) a posteriori by drawing dietary patterns (DPs) with principal component analysis (PCA) and 2) a priori by establishing diet quality scores and the adherence to pro-Healthy-Diet-Index (pHDI) and non-Healthy-Diet-Index (nHDI). Logistic regression with backward selection based on Akaike information criterion was carried out, to identify factors independently associated with metabolic health. Results: Within the MS group, 31% were of normal weight. Three PCA-driven DPs were identified, in total explaining 30.0% of the variance: "Western" (11.8%), "Prudent" (11.2%) and "Dairy, breakfast cereals & treats" (7.0%). In the multivariate models which included PCA-driven DPs, higher adherence to middle and upper tertiles of "Western" DP (Odds Ratios [OR] and 95% Confidence Intervals [95% CI]: 1.72, 1.07-2.79 and 1.74, 1.07-2.84, respectively), was associated with MS independently of clinical characteristics including BMI and waist-hip ratio (WHR). Similar results were obtained in the multivariate model with diet quality scores-MS was independently associated with higher scores within nHDI (2.2, 0.92-5.28). Conclusions: Individuals with MS were more likely to adhere to the western dietary pattern and have a poor diet quality in comparison to metabolically healthy peers, independently of BMI and WHR. It may imply that diet composition, as independent factor, plays a pivotal role in increasing metabolic risk. Professional dietary advice should be offered to all metabolically unhealthy patients, regardless of their body mass status.

Introduction: Obesity is often accompanied by low-grade inflammation. In recent years a few blood-based inflammatory markers-neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyteto-monocyte ratio (LMR), and monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein ratio (MHR)-have been identified. They have been proven to correlate well with established inflammatory markers such as hsCRP and have a prognostic value among others in patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure, and malignancies. The aim of the study was to find markers associated with obesity in young heathy adults. Material and methods: The study group included 321 young healthy adults aged 18-35 years (210 males and 111 females). Partial least squares regression analysis was used to find variables associated with body mass index (BMI). Analysed variables included complete blood count, lipid profile, sex hormone levels, acute-phase protein levels, and blood-based inflammatory markers. Results: Variables with the strongest association with BMI in the group of men were HDL% and apolipoprotein B, and in the group of women, HDL, HDL%, triglycerides, and MHR. Novel inflammatory markers were not associated with BMI, except MHR. We found significant (p < 0.001) correlations between novel biomarkers (NLR, dNLR) and hsCRP and fibrinogen levels in the group of subjects with obesity. Conclusions: Blood-based inflammatory markers significantly correlate with hsCRP and fibrinogen in young healthy adults with obesity, which may reflect the subclinical inflammation in this group of individuals.

Introduction First-degree relatives of individuals with premature coronary artery disease (CAD) are at increased risk of CAD. The research hypothesis of this project assumes that there are differences in the metabolic profiles between individuals with and without a positive family history (FH) of premature CAD. Material and methods The study group will comprise healthy patients ( n = 500) aged 18–35 years with a FH of premature CAD, and the control group ( n = 500) will consist of healthy subjects without a FH of premature CAD. Blood tests assessing the lipid profile will be carried out. Patients will respond to a questionnaire regarding FH and dietary habits. Measurement of carotid intima media thickness will be performed. Analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with premature CAD will be carried out for every patient. Metabolomic profiling will be performed using a high-sensitivity Bruker AVANCE II 600 MHz NMR spectroscope. Results The results of this study will include a comparison of metabolic profiles assessed by 1H-NMR spectroscopy in the study and control groups and the results of analyses of the relationship between the metabolic profiles and genetic risk score calculated based on evaluated SNPs associated with premature CAD. Conclusions This study will deepen our knowledge of the aetiopathogenesis of atherosclerosis by identifying metabolic patterns associated with a positive FH of premature CAD. Obtaining a detailed FH will enable adjustments for major risk factors of premature CAD in the proband’s first-degree relatives. This research project also provides a chance to discover new biomarkers associated with the risk of premature CAD.

Obesity is a significant factor related to metabolic disturbances that can lead to metabolic syndrome (MetS). Metabolic dysregulation causes oxidative stress, which affects telomere structure. The current study aimed to evaluate the relationships between telomere length, oxidative stress and the metabolically healthy and unhealthy phenotypes in healthy young men. Ninety-eight participants were included in the study (49 healthy slim and 49 obese patients). Study participants were divided into three subgroups according to body mass index and metabolic health. Selected oxidative stress markers were measured in serum. Relative telomere length (rTL) was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The analysis showed associations between laboratory markers, oxidative stress markers and rTL in metabolically healthy and unhealthy participants. Total oxidation status (TOS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and rTL were significantly connected with metabolically unhealthy obesity. TAC was associated with metabolically healthy obesity. Telomeres shorten in patients with metabolic dysregulation related to oxidative stress and obesity linked to MetS. Further studies among young metabolically healthy and unhealthy individuals are needed to determine the pathways related to metabolic disturbances that cause oxidative stress that leads to MetS.

Background and Purpose: We aimed to assess the association between calcium and phosphorous and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in normal-weight individuals. Patients and Methods: The study sample comprised 460 normal-weight (body mass index <25kg/m 2) adults aged 18-35 years. The diagnosis of MetS was based on the presence of at least two of the following: 1) systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥130 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥85 mmHg, 2) triglycerides (TG) >150 mg/dl, 3) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) <1 mmol/in men and <1.2 mmol/l in women, 4) total cholesterol (TC) >5.2 mmol/l, and 5) fasting glucose (FBG) >5.55 mmol/l. Results: Patients with MetS were more often male and slightly older and they had a higher body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. By definition, patients with MetS had higher levels of BP, GLC, glycated hemoglobin A1c, TC, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), TG, and apolipoprotein B but significantly lower concentrations of HDL-C and apolipoprotein A. Moreover, subjects with MetS had higher activity of the liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP). Higher concentrations of uric acid, creatinine and albumin (ALB) were also observed in subjects with MetS. The factors associated with MetS in the multivariate analysis were higher GGTP activity (OR per 5 unit increase-1.23 (1.11-1.37); p<0.0001), a higher BMI (OR-1.28 (1.1-1.52); p=0.003), a higher concentration of calcium (OR per 0.1 mmol/l increase-1.79 (1.21-2.7); p=0.004), higher ALB levels (OR per 5 g/l increase-1.76 (1.11-2.95), p=0.02); higher phosphorous levels (OR per 0.1 mmol/l increase-0.82 (0.67-0.99); p=0.04), and a good household situation (odds ratio (OR)-0.58 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.31-1.07); p=0.08). Conclusion: Calcium and phosphorus levels are significantly associated with MetS in normal-weight individuals.